Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-25

through the eastern edge of the county i
belt of woodland knoWIt as the Glove
Cross Timbers," and consisting princi
pally of low, heavy-topped post OAK, witt
blackjack and hickory Interpreted
Two -tifths of the entire county is timbereC
land.
ARTEsIAN WELLS
exist in nearly every section and it is be.
lieVed that nearly every projected arte-
sian well has been success.
Until very recent years cotton was the
chief agricultural product, but now wheat
! is it's rival. The soil is admirably
adapted to both as we'll as all the staple
agricultural products. The mean annual
rainfall is about thlrty-six inches, and
protracted drouth5 are Of rare occurrence.
| Within the last two years the attention OF
! the farmers has been most successfully
turned toward fruit raising and, peaches,
! apples, plums, etc, ETC., yield heavily
wherever they receive proper culture.
! The rapid development of the agricul-
[ tural interests and the opening of
thousands of new farms have operated
| to greatly reduce the area of
grazing lands, and stock raising as
g distinct pursuit is rapidly
giving away to agriculture, though the
stock interest is still of great Importance.
Much attention has been devoted in the
past two years to stock Improvement, so
that the aggregate value OF live stock IS
about as large as it ever was.
The waters OF ali the streams abound
in fish, small game is plentiful, and few
deer yet remain.
The climate is delightful, July and
August being the only months Of the year
when citizens feel like seeking some
other cline, and during these TWO months
the fresh southern breeze blows almost
continuously. The high elevation and
open country gives the people full benefit
Of these "gulf breeZeS," and d case Of
sunstroke in Fort Worth rarely occurs.
Ia the winter the weather is mild, and
only when a norther comes Whistling
| from It's cold birthplace do the citizens
experience any OF the inconvenience OF
cold weather. Snow visits the county
once or twice each season, but melts as
it falls The streams flow all winter, and
are never choked up with ice.
Interesting statistics could be written
about the growth Of other towns in Tar
rant county, prominent among which are
BiTdville, Grapevine, Keller, Arlington,
Mansfield and others, but it cannot be
done st this time. These towns are all
| prosperous and rapidly advancing in pro-
portion to the general development of the
entire country. They are valuable feed
ers to tne trade OF Fort Worth, which in
turn is q fine market for the country pro-
duce which flows into these small towns.
There is very little extreme poverty in the
county outside of Fort Worth, and drive
! over its every section discloses well-cul-
| tiyated farms and countless small herds
Of farm cattle.
Since it's organization, Tarrant county
| has made wonderful progress, and its
enterprising citizenship claim that in 1890
! it will stand Still nearer the head of Texas
cities in point Of population and wealth.
| Certainly, the progress made in the past
ten years of its history is foundation
! for this assertion. The city OF Fort
Worth is now the great railroad center of
the state, and the county is rich in fertile
and well watered soil that will develop
/ in an agricultural way in proportion to
! the growth of the city's wealth.
| A brief sketch of the early history OF
| the county was prepared for TIE GAZETTE
! in IT'S July edition Of last year, and it is
reprinted here:
According to the most authentic in
! formation to be had on the subject, the
! late Captain Ed Terull and a companion
named j. 2. Lusk we're the first white
men to stand on the soil that now holds
the city of Fort Worth. In November,
1913, they pitched their tent about one
and half miles south west Of where the
courthouse now stands, in the familiar
/ liveoak grove that stands there to-day.
! Their nearest neighbors were two young
men on White Rock, IN Dallas county,
! forty-fve miles away. They camped
there about twelve months and were cap
tured by Indians when returning home
with their Dallas county neighbOrs, who
were TO help them raise q house then in
course of erection in the liveoak grove.
After captivity of three days they were
released 6y order of q young Wichita
chief named jim Nasha. After their re.
lease, which was obtained through @
promise to 90 to the settlement for pro
visions for the Indians, they made tracks
for Fannin county, and tradition
says they violated the contract
about the provisions. In lS49 Captain
Terrill returned to Tarrsnt county and To-
csted again in the beautiful liveOak grove.
About this tine the military post was es-
tablished on the bluff at the junction of
the West and Clear forks of the Trinity.
Settlers came pouring around the post,
and soon the infant marks of the present
great city became visible.
A brief allusion to the experience OF
Captain E. NJ. Daggett, probably the
most prominent figure in the early history
Of the county, will Continue the thread OF
this narrative. Captain D8ggett came to
Tarrant from Shelby county, in this state,
in year l849, and located some lands for
himself and some friends. He returned
to Shelby county and afterwards made
yearly trips to TarTant, until IN the year
1854 he moved his family here and
took an active part in the organization of
the county. He was at the first election
for county officers, which was held at the
"Cold Springs" about one mile east of
the present courthouse. BirdVille was
then the largest town in the county, and
by q popular vote the county seat was
located there. This dissatisfied many of
the citizens of the county, and new
election was ordered. The question was
finally settled by an act of the Legisle-
lure in favor of Fort Worth, 1t is said
that this end WAS secured mainly through
the untiring efforts of Captain Daggett.
He has since passed away, loved and
honored by all who knew him, with his
name and life forever linked with one of
the future great cities of Texas.
Much that is intereresing could be told
on those early pioneers, such as DR.. Car
roll. NJ Peak, NJ. 7. Johnson, J. P.
Smith, B. P. Ayres and others, but such
is not within the purview OF this nara
tive.
"The county prospered and its populs-
ton increased as the years crept by. The